Thursday, February 21, 2019
Trump Admin’s Secretive Talks to Sell Saudi Arabia Nuclear Technology Spark New Fear of Arms Race
Antisemitism at Worst Levels Since Second World War, Says Macron
Antisemitism appears to have reached its worst levels since the second world war, Emmanuel Macron told Jewish community leaders on Wednesday, a day after thousands of people took to the streets in France to denounce hate crimes.
The French government is to adopt the intergovernmental organisation International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism and propose a law to stop hate speech being circulated online, the French president said.
Speaking at the annual dinner of the Jewish organisation Conseil Représentatif des Institutions Juives de France (Crif), Macron said his country and other parts of Europe had in recent years seen “a resurgence of antisemitism that is probably unprecedented since [the second world war]”. » | Agencies | Thursday, February 21, 2019
Wednesday, February 20, 2019
Can Bernie Sanders Win against Donald Trump? l Inside Story
The 77-year-old is making a second attempt, launching his campaign to be Democratic candidate in 2020 and believes he still has what it takes to win the White House. He's described Donald Trump as the most dangerous president in modern American history.
The list for the Democratic primary looks a crowded one and one of the most diverse ever. At least 12 candidates have confirmed they'll run so far - dozens more have still to decide.
There are already a record number of women, vast age differences between candidates, and ethnic minorities. But have any of them got what it will take to face up to Trump?
Presenter: Hashem Ahelbarra | Guests: Jeffrey Stacey - Former State Department Official in the Obama Administration; Adam Quinn - Senior Lecturer in American Politics, University of Birmingham; Rina Shah - Republican Strategist and Consultant
Saudi Scholar: My Father Faces the Death Penalty in Saudi Arabia for Supporting Human Rights
Karl Lagerfeld - German Fashion Designer and Icon | DW Documentary
No living fashion designer, let alone a German one, was as celebrated as Karl Lagerfeld. On September 10, 2018 the man with the trademark ponytail and sunglasses celebrated his 85th birthday. From dawn to late morning, Karl Lagerfeld designs for Chanel, Fendi and his own signature brand - a combined workload of up to 15 collections a year. A workhorse who never takes breaks or even a vacation, he is also a photographer and filmmaker. His passion for fashion was awakened by a Dior show in Hamburg in 1950. Four years later, at the age of 17, Karl Lagerfeld was hired as an assistant to Pierre Balmain. Karl Lagerfeld recounts his beginnings in the industry, as well as his upper class background and childhood in Schleswig-Holstein. Karl Lagerfeld was greatly influenced by his mother, whom he describes as his personal style icon. Karl Lagerfeld's caustic comments were notorious and dreaded by those at the receiving end. As an artist, Karl Lagerfeld worked in several media, from pictures and photographs to book illustrations and videos. The documentary of 2015 follows Karl Lagerfeld to exhibition openings, during the hectic preparations for his fashion shows, and at photo shoots in Paris as it seeks to uncover the man behind the mask.
Tuesday, February 19, 2019
Bernie Sanders: End US Arms Sales to Saudis and Support for its Yemen War
Türkei: Führende Ex-Mitarbeiter von "Cumhuriyet" müssen ins Gefängnis
Führende Ex-Mitarbeiter und Journalisten der regierungskritischen türkischen Zeitung "Cumhuriyet" müssen nach einem gescheiterten Berufungsverfahren ins Gefängnis. Das Berufungsgericht in Istanbul wies den Einspruch der 14 Angeklagten zurück, die im vergangenen April zu teils mehrjährigen Haftstrafen verurteilt worden waren. » | APA/AFP/dpa | Dienstag, 19. Februar 2019
Former IS Bride: Shamima Begum Should Ask for 'Mercy'
Ms Joya believes that like herself, Shamima Begum has been "deceived to believe" in a utopia that simply doesn't exist and that she can be helped if she asks for "mercy".
Shamima Begum: 'I didn't want to be IS poster girl' - BBC News
Ms Begum, who has just given birth, said she now wants the UK's forgiveness and supports "some British values".
She told the BBC while it was "wrong" innocent people died in the 2017 Manchester attack, it was "kind of retaliation" for attacks on IS.
The 19-year-old left Bethnal Green four years ago with two school friends
Shamima Begum: I Didn't Do Anything Dangerous
Now aged 19, she has given birth to a baby boy and she wants to return to the UK.
She says she knew about IS executions before she left for Syria, and thinks that people should have sympathy 'for everything [she has] been through'.
Monday, February 18, 2019
Mike Pence Met With Silence; Angela Merkel Hammers President Donald Trump | Morning Joe | MSNBC
Rift Between Trump and Europe Is Now Open and Angry
But in the last few days of a prestigious annual security conference in Munich, the rift between Europe and the Trump administration became open, angry and concrete, diplomats and analysts say.
A senior German official, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak on such matters, shrugged his shoulders and said: “No one any longer believes that Trump cares about the views or interests of the allies. It’s broken.”
The most immediate danger, diplomats and intelligence officials warned, is that the trans-Atlantic fissures now risk being exploited by Russia and China. » | Steven Erlanger and Katrin Bennhold | Sunday, February 17, 2019
Sunday, February 17, 2019
Macron Condemns Antisemitic Abuse During gilets jaunes Paris Protest
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has condemned antisemitic abuse of a leading intellectual by gilets jaunes (yellow vests) protesters and said it would not be tolerated.
Police intervened to protect philosopher and writer Alain Finkielkraut after he was targeted by a group of protesters on the fringe of a demonstration in central Paris on Saturday, according to videos posted on social networks.
“The antisemitic insults he has been subjected to are the absolute negation of what we are and what makes us a great nation. We will not tolerate it,” Macron tweeted.
“The son of Polish immigrants who became a French academician, Alain Finkielkraut is not only a prominent man of letters but the symbol of what the Republic allows everyone,” the president added in another tweet.
Several protesters shouted “dirty Zionist”, “we are the people” and “France is ours”, according to a video broadcast by Yahoo! News. » | Agence France-Presse | Sunday, February 17, 2019
Third of Britons Believe Islam Threatens British Way of Life, Says Report
More than a third of people in the UK think that Islam is a threat to the British way of life, according to a report by the anti-fascist group Hope not Hate.
The organisation’s annual “State of Hate” report, which will be launched on Monday, argues that anti-Muslim prejudice has replaced immigration as the key driver of far right growth.
In polling conducted by the group in July last year, 35% of people thought Islam was generally a threat to the British way of life, compared with 30% who thought it was generally compatible. Forty-nine per cent of those who voted Conservative in the 2017 general election shared thought it was generally incompatible, while 21% of Labour voters did. » | Frances Perraudin | Sunday, February 17, 2019
Saturday, February 16, 2019
Lee Radziwill, Jackie Kennedy's Younger Sister, Dies Aged 85
The American socialite Lee Radziwill, who was Jackie Kennedy’s younger sister, has died. She was 85.
The website WWD reported the news, saying Radziwill died at home in New York City on Friday. The cause of death was not immediately known.
Radziwill was born Caroline Lee Bouvier in 1933, four years after her sister. Briefly and unsuccessfully an actor, she achieved success as an interior designer and public relations executive in the fashion industry, working for Giorgio Armani. » \ Martin Pengelly in New York | Saturday, February 16, 2019
Karl Marx's London Memorial Vandalised for Second Time
The tomb of Karl Marx in Highgate cemetery in London has been vandalised for the second time in the space of a month.
The words “doctrine of hate” and “architect of genocide” were found daubed in red paint across the Grade I-listed monument in the north London graveyard on Saturday.
The latest attack comes less than two weeks after the marble plaque on the tomb was defaced by an apparent attempt to scrape and chip Marx’s name off the marble slab with a hammer. » | Ruth Quinn | Saturday, February 16, 2019
Mike Pence Rebukes European Powers over Iran and Venezuela
Rede der Kanzlerin: Merkel live auf der Münchner Sicherheitskonferenz
THE GUARDIAN: Angela Merkel criticises US isolationism, urging 'win-win solutions' »
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Merkel Rejects U.S. Demands That Europe Pull Out of Iran Nuclear Deal »
UK's Saudi Weapons Sales Unlawful, Lords Committee Finds
The UK is on “the wrong side of the law” by sanctioning arms exports to Saudi Arabia for the war in Yemen and should suspend some of the export licences, an all-party Lords committee has said.
The report by the international relations select committee says ministers are not making independent checks to see if arms supplied by the UK are being used in breach of the law, but is instead relying on inadequate investigations by the Saudis, its allies in the war.
It describes the humanitarian plight of Yemenis as “unconscionable”. » | Patrick Wintour, Diplomatic editor | Saturday, February 16, 2019
Saudi Women, Unveiled
'Why I Fled Saudi Arabia and Sought Asylum in the UK' - BBC News
Pelosi Slams Trump's National Emergency over Border Wall
Friday, February 15, 2019
German Minister Calls for Ban on Conversion Therapy
The German health minister, Jens Spahn, has said that he will seek to ban “conversion therapies” that claim to change sexual orientation.
“Homosexuality is not an illness, which is why it does not need to be treated,” Spahn, who is gay himself, told the left-leaning Berlin daily Die Tageszeitung.
He hoped that a German law banning such therapies could be adopted by the summer. » | Agence France-Presse | Friday, February 15, 2019
David Gergen: There's No Border Emergency, It's a Fake
Antisemitism Rising Sharply across Europe, Latest Figures Show
Antisemitism is rising sharply across Europe, experts have said, as France reported a 74% increase in the number of offences against Jews last year and Germany said the number of violent antisemitic attacks had surged by more than 60%.
The figures confirm the results of three recent Europe-wide surveys showing Jewish people feel at greater risk, and are experiencing markedly more aggression, amid a generalised increase in racist hate speech and violence in a significantly coarser, more polarised political environment.
France’s interior ministry said this week that recorded incidents of antisemitism rose to 541 last year from 311 in 2017, while the German government said offences motivated by hatred of Jews hit a 10-year high of 1,646 in 2018. Physical attacks rose from 37 to 62, leaving 43 people needing medical treatment. » | Jon Henley, European affairs correspondent | Friday, February 15, 2019
Thursday, February 14, 2019
Trump Will Declare National Emergency to Fund Border Wall, Says White House
The White House said it is going to declare a national emergency on America’s southern border as a way of funding Donald Trump’s long-promised border wall with Mexico.
The announcement came just before the Senate voted 83 to 16 to advance a spending package designed to prevent another government shutdown. The House will take up the bill later evening and Trump has said he will sign it.
“President Trump will sign the government funding bill, and as he has stated before, he will also take other executive action – including a national emergency – to ensure we stop the national security and humanitarian crisis at the border. The President is once again delivering on his promise to build the wall, protect the border, and secure our great country,” the White House said in a statement. » | Ben Jacobs and Lauren Gambino in Washington | Thursday, February 14, 2019
Mike Pence Attacks UK for 'Breaking US Sanctions against Iran'
In an unusually blunt attack on America’s traditional European allies, Mr Pence told a summit in Warsaw that the three countries were leading “an effort to break American sanctions against Iran’s murderous revolutionary regime”.
He focused his criticism on a financial mechanism created by the three states and the EU to allow European firms to continue trading with Iran in a way that skirts punishing US sanctions.
“It's an ill-advised step that will only strengthen Iran, weaken the EU, and create still more distance between Europe and the United States,” Mr Pence said.
He said the British, French, and German governments had “not been nearly as cooperative” in backing America’s anti-Iran policy as Israel and the Gulf Arab states like Saudi Arabia and the UAE. » | Raf Sanchez, Warsaw | Thursday, February 14, 2019
Venezuela’s Foreign Minister: “Washington Hijacked Guaidó”
'Salman Rushdie Radicalised My Generation'
Alyas Karmani was soaking up everything student life had to offer. He'd grown up in Tooting, south London, in a traditional Pakistani household, his father a bus driver and trade unionist. Religion was an important part of Alyas's upbringing but not something he was particularly interested in.
"We were obedient to our parents. We'd go to the mosque when it was required but we had a clandestine double-life existence," he says. "We were partying, smoking weed, going out with girls and doing everything we could possibly do."
So when it was time to choose a university, Alyas ran away from his Pakistani Muslim identity and headed 400 miles north to Glasgow. "I was running as fast as possible. I was a 'self-hating Paki'. I didn't want brown friends. All my friends were white liberal mainstream types. That was my crowd." » | Mobeen Azhar, BBC News | Thursday, February 14, 2019
Dutch PM on Brexit: UK Is a Waning Country Too Small to Stand Alone
Britain is a “waning country” and too small to stand alone on the world stage, the Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, has claimed in a withering assessment of the UK’s exit from the EU.
Rutte, who has emerged as a key player in the talks over the past two years, also warned in an interview that the UK looked to be sliding off the “precipice” towards a “devastating” no-deal Brexit.
“Who will be left weakened by Brexit is the United Kingdom,” he said. “It is already weakening, it is a waning country compared to two or three years ago. It is going to become an economy of middling size in the Atlantic Ocean. It is neither the US nor the EU. It is too small to appear on the world stage on its own.” » | Daniel Boffey in Brussels | Thursday, February 14, 2019
THE GUARDIAN: Netherlands PM uses Britain's Brexit 'chaos' as cautionary tale »
Glenn Greenwald: As Bezos Protests Invasion of His Privacy, Amazon Builds Global Surveillance State
Wednesday, February 13, 2019
Brexit Is National Crisis, Former Diplomats Tell Theresa May
More than 40 former British ambassadors and high commissioners have written to Theresa May warning her that Brexit has turned into a “national crisis” and urging her to delay proceedings until the government has greater clarity about Britain’s likely future relationship with Europe.
The letter, signed by many of the most senior diplomats of the last 20 years, underlines concerns that British influence in the world will wane if the country leaves Europe’s trading and foreign policy bloc.
In a joint statement they write: “As former diplomats who have served around the world we have a clear understanding of what contributes to Britain’s influence in the world. Our advice to Theresa May today is clear: we should not leave the EU when we have no clarity about our final destination. Instead we must use the mechanisms at our disposal, above all we must seek to extend the article 50 negotiating period.” » | Patrick Wintour, Diplomatic editor | Wednesday, February 13, 2019
Photographer Shows Trump Without Fake Tan And Fake Hair And It's Hilarious
Opinion: My Father Faces the Death Penalty. This Is Justice in Saudi Arabia.
Despite the claims of Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his enablers, Saudi Arabia is not rolling back the hard-line religious establishment. Instead, the kingdom is curtailing the voices of moderation that have historically combated extremism. Numerous Saudi activists, scholars and thinkers who have sought reform and opposed the forces of extremism and patriarchy have been arrested. Many of them face the death penalty.
Salman Alodah, my father, is a 61-year-old scholar of Islamic law in Saudi Arabia, a reformist who argued for greater respect for human rights within Shariah, the legal code of Islam based on the Quran. His voice was heard widely, partly owing to his popularity as a public figure with 14 million followers on Twitter. » | Abdullah Alaoudh | Mr. Alaoudh is a legal scholar at Georgetown University. | Wednesday, February 13, 2019
France's Yellow Rebellion – A Movement against Macron | DW Documentary
What began as a spontaneous protest against high gasoline prices swiftly evolved into a mass movement that has caused a major crisis in France. The "yellow vests” have become synonymous with the widespread anger at the reform policies of President Emmanuel Macron - and constitute his greatest challenge since he took office. The protesters accuse Macron of being a representative of the rich while ignoring the plight of ordinary citizens. The wave of demonstrations was triggered by Jacline Mouraud and her video tirade on social media. Her subsequent fame has enabled her to continue criticizing politicians on TV talk shows. The "yellow vest” demonstrations have been organized almost exclusively online and without the involvement of opposition parties or unions.
The protesters have a range of demands, from lower taxes to high pensions and a greater say in the running of the country. They feel neglected by the Paris elite, who they see as showing no interest in their economic duress and fears of social decline.
Tuesday, February 12, 2019
Monday, February 11, 2019
The Iran Revolution at 40: From Theocracy to ‘Normality’
Ecstatic Iranians danced in the streets, playing cat and mouse with soldiers as lingering pro-government sharpshooters fired from the rooftops. Families joined in mass protests, as vigilantes ransacked liquor stores and people kissed the foreheads of turbaned clerics leading the revolution. » | Thomas Erdbrink | Sunday, February 10, 2019
Reporting from Iran's 40th Revolution Anniversary Celebrations l Al Jazeera English
Iran organises the nationwide rally every February 11 to highlight the size of grassroots support for the revolution, which replaced Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's government with an Islamic Republic under Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
Thousands of others also gathered in other cities, including the holy city of Mashhad. Al Jazeera's Zein Basravi reports from Mashhad, where he provides a first-hand experience of celebrations.
Additionally, Foad Izadi, professor of international relations at Tehran University, tells Al Jazeera how Iran has taken a more militaristic approach to diplomacy as a result of US President Donald Trump's decision to break the 2015 nuclear agreement.
Sunday, February 10, 2019
Will Saudi Arabia Be Held to Account for Jamal Khashoggi's Murder? l Inside Story
Despite widespread demands for an international investigation and to hold the Saudi government accountable, Donald Trump has largely stood by his ally, the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.
The US President has now missed a Friday deadline to tell Congress who's responsible for Khashoggi's killing. Instead, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wrote a letter insisting the Trump administration will seek accountability.
So, will anyone be held to account for Khashoggi's murder?
Presenter: Peter Dobbie | Guests: Scott Lucas - Professor of American Studies at the University of Birmingham; Selva Tor - Political and Financial Strategist; Drew Liquerman - Vice Chairman of Republicans Overseas UK
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